The human era of business

If com­pa­nies want to make trusted con­nec­tions with today’s con­sumers, they must deliver authentic sto­ries through inspi­ra­tional expe­ri­ences, according to Karen Kaplan, chairman and CEO of the adver­tising agency Hill Holliday.

“Sto­ry­telling will never lose its power, but a great brand story that isn’t sup­ported by an equally great brand expe­ri­ence only serves to fur­ther erode cus­tomer trust,” said Kaplan, who served as the keynote speaker at Northeastern’s CEO Break­fast Forum on Wednesday.

The series gives leading CEOs the oppor­tu­nity to share their exper­tise with audi­ences of other CEOs and senior exec­u­tives from the Greater Boston area.

Kaplan noted that con­sumer trust has shifted from an indus­trial era, in which con­sumers relied upon large insti­tu­tions and their leaders to ful­fill their oblig­a­tions, to a human era, in which con­sumers want to make per­sonal con­nec­tions with com­pa­nies and feel as though their voices are being heard.

“It’s a shift that is rel­e­vant to every com­pany that is doing busi­ness today and it presents a tremen­dous growth oppor­tu­nity for those of us who embrace it,” Kaplan said. “We believe that becoming a human era brand is an essen­tial way of approaching busi­ness in our con­nected age.”

Social media, Kaplan explained, is one of the pri­mary dri­ving forces behind the shift in con­sumer trust because it allows cus­tomers to more easily share with the masses their sto­ries and expe­ri­ences with industry. “Influ­encers come from every­where now,” she noted.

Kaplan started working for Hill Hol­l­iday in 1982 when she was hired by the Boston-​​based agency as a recep­tionist. She rose through the com­pany ranks and was named chair and CEO ear­lier this year. Busi­ness Insider and Adver­tising Age have been named her one of the most influ­en­tial women in adver­tising, and she was a dri­ving force in helping Hill Hol­l­iday grow to more than $1 bil­lion in annual billings. It is cur­rently the 13th largest adver­tising agency in the country.

Kaplan is also the imme­diate past chair of the Greater Boston Chamber of Com­merce and a member of the Clinton Global Ini­tia­tive. Last year, she joined other Boston busi­ness leaders to estab­lish the One Fund, which raises money to help the sur­vivors of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.

In his wel­coming remarks, North­eastern Board of Trustees Chair Henry Nasella, UC’77, H’08, acknowl­edged the North­eastern stu­dents in atten­dance including rep­re­sen­ta­tives of SCOUT, the university’s new student-​​led design studio. “It’s just a great example of the kinds of talent this uni­ver­sity pro­duces,” Nasella said.

During a Q-​​and-​​A fol­lowing her talk, Kaplan fielded ques­tions from audi­ence mem­bers ranging from how to get com­pany leaders to buy into the shift to the human era, to how the human era model can be used to forge con­nec­tions between businesses.

She was also asked to offer a crisis strategy for brands such as Gen­eral Motors, which in 2014 has recalled more than 13 mil­lion vehi­cles, as well as other com­pa­nies that have faced crit­i­cism over mis­steps and whose CEOs have tried to make amends in the face of neg­a­tive news.

“Human era brands are imper­fect,” Kaplan said. “Just like human beings are. And what brands have to learn is they are going to make mis­takes, they have to own up to those mis­takes, and then come for­ward with a plan to improve.”

About the Writer

Joe O'Connell is a staff writer for News@Northeastern. A former newspaper reporter and editor, Joe came to Northeastern after working for three different daily newspapers in Massachusetts. Joe is a UNH grad and is finding it difficult to pick which hockey team to cheer for. When he isn't working, Joe can be found watching Boston's sports teams in their athletic endeavors, playing golf badly, and washing hospital scrubs. Follow him on Twitter @joconnell_nu

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